Air Itam Dam (Empangan Air Itam)

Papa Lee had wanted to go to the Air Itam Dam with the family for a while now after hearing about it. I guess he wanted to discover more options as a place for Che-che Lee (2.5yo) to use up her energy besides the few parks that we frequent. Now that the latest Baby Lee is 2 months old, we decided to venture into the unknown one fine evening. Mama Lee was secretly excited as Papa Lee had somehow hyped up the place.

We were brave enough to go near the Kek Lok Si temple a day post-Chap Goh Mei, the last day of Chinese New Year. It was also a public holiday for Thaipusam. I guess we just wanted to go somewhere.

The drive up was steep. There were a few times Papa Lee wondered if our Alza will be able to bring all four of us all the way up! Mama Lee also had to feed Baby Lee as the pressure began to build up in our ears on the way up. The roads are narrow with cars zooming down on the next lane! Yikes! We finally made it up and discovered that the place has limited (very!) parking so we had to park along another steep road! Mama Lee was paranoid walking downhill with Baby Lee in a carrier!

View on the way back

Honestly, the view was breathtaking! There are tarred roads along the way and we noticed a lot of cyclists (who cycled all the way uphill!!), plenty of exercise enthusiasts hiking the numerous routes, some families with young children and a couple with a stroller. There is a small playground with 2 out of 4 usable swings and a slide with one portion cordoned off like in crime scene to prevent a small foot from accidentally stepping into the hole. Hmm... Other than that, Che-che Lee enjoyed spending time with nature spotting things like the giant ant or the waterfall around her.

Quenching her thirst

We did not notice any toilets in sight so nappy changing will have to be in the back seat of the car though we are pretty sure there must be one around. Breastfeeding will take place in the car too to prevent a heat stroke! ;-P I also wonder if there is a learning centre for children so they can know more about what a dam is and what is it for etc.

Meanwhile, we can safely conclude that we will not be back there till the kids are much bigger. Don't let this deter you from bringing young children there for a good sweat out and to enjoy the serenity of the place though.

Michael Learns To Rock Penang!

MLTR is coming to town! We were debating hard whether to go or not and how to arrange for someone to babysit Baby Lee. Decided in the end that we will give it a miss :(

The MLTR World Tour Live in Malaysia 2011 will be held in the Penang PISA Stadium on 22 April as well as in KL and Kuantan later. They will be presenting some old favourites (remember Sleeping Child, 25 Minutes Too Late, That's Why (You Go Away), The Actor, etc.??) as well as new releases.

Should you decide to go, the event is organized by Star Planet and tickets for the MLTR World Tour Live in Malaysia 2011 are priced at RM323 (VIP), RM223 (PS1), RM163 (PS2), and RM103 (PS3).

For tickets, call Star Planet 03-92233667 or TicketCharge 03-92228811 or go to TicketCharge's website.

Penang Hill's new train service to start Monday, fares announced

Article on http://thestar.com.my 

By FONG KEE SOON 

Published: Thursday April 21, 2011 MYT 3:26:00 PM

GEORGE TOWN: The new Penang Hill funicular train service will be open to the public from April 25.

Penang Hill Corporation director Datuk Lee Kah Choon said the train will run for charity for the first six days until April 30.

"For a contribution of RM10 (return ticket), you can enjoy a 10-minute ride on Penang Hill's new funicular train.

"The proceeds from the charity sale of tickets will be channelled to the Penang State Welfare for donation to the underprivileged identified by the state government," said Lee, adding that children below the age of 12 years could enjoy the ride for free during the period.

Lee was speaking to reporters in a press conference here Thursday to announce the new train fares effective May 1.

For Malaysians, the fare for a return ticket is RM8 per adult and RM4 per child aged between three and 12.

Senior citizens will enjoy cheaper fares at RM4 per person.

The ride continues to remain free of charge for disabled persons holding the OKU card.

Also unchanged are the fares for Penang Hill residents, licensed traders and hawkers and workers, who can purchase monthly season pass at RM24.

The blue, air-conditioned Swiss-made coaches, capable of ferrying up to 100 passengers at one go, will run every half hour from 6.30am to 9pm daily.

The new RM73mil system replaces the 87-year-old funicular railway, which was closed in February last year.

Taken from http://holidaysinmalaysia.org

Welcome 2011!

What a year it has been discovering Penang! We came to Penang in 2010 only with some knowledge of this place as a holiday destination and have since discovered so much more from finding a paediatrician to finding knick-knacks at the Little Penang Street Market, Roti Bakar off Jalan Hutton to Jalan Stesen Bukit Bendera Assam Laksa, Penang Children Library to Rapid Penang Bus Services and loads more that we have not managed to update! So we welcome this new year with much anticipation of more discoveries!

Malaysian-German Society Christmas Bazaar

Bratwurst and sauerkraut

Christmas came a bit early this year as we ‘celebrated’ the event at the Malaysian-German Society premise yesterday. This year’s Christmas Bazaar started at 3pm. For the Lees, we headed straight for some bratwurst to fill out tummys first. We were a little taken aback at the price though. A plate of German wurtz and sauerkraut (or potato salad) costs us a whopping RM9.00! Canned soft drinks were priced at RM3.00. Anyway, we were happy to chomp down some authentic German food.

Once fed, we headed inside the blue colonial building to check out the stalls selling Christmas decorations, jewellery and jams amongst other things. Our favourite is Patricia’s Celebrate Life stall selling self-sewn trinkets and aprons. Sweet!

Patricia celebrating life!

Inge's homemade jams and pickles

At about 4pm, the German children gathered upstairs to sing us a few Christmas carols while we enjoyed homemade traditional German cakes! Mind you, you can’t find these baked commonly in Penang. These cakes were prepared specially for this occasion in the kitchens of our German friends based all around Penang! Mmm....

Singing Stille Nacht (Silent Night)

Poppy seed crumble

At 5pm, the children were whisked away for a story telling session in German and English on the first floor while at the foyer downstairs, the International Women Association serenaded us with more Christmas carols, this time in English, before a trendy Santa Claus with cool sunglasses whizzed in on a motorbike! He was immediately flocked by the eager children who had been good this year (as they all received a little goody bag each!). Oh what fun!

Here comes Santa Claus!

Besides organising an annual Christmas bazaar, the Malaysian-German Society also conducts German language classes, film shows, cultural performances, Oktoberfest, and events. There is also a mini Library with a good range of books in German available too.

For further enquiries, you can contact:
Malaysian-German Society (MGS)
250B Jalan Air Itam
10460 Penang
Tel/ Fax: 04-229 6853
Email: office@mgs-penang.com

What's On in Penang

So many events so little time! Not to mention no on/off baby sitter...

Anyway, we manage to find lots of baby-/ family-friendly events and activities happening in town where we will be going, subjected to the weather and nap times. Check them out yourself in the column on the right entitled "Where you will likely find us".

Any willing babysitter out there???

Penang Children Library

We love books and have been encouraging Baby Lee to love books too. We were really glad that the Penang Children Library (Georgetown branch) is located not too far from us. I brought Baby Lee there one of those afternoons to check the place out. It is a two storey building with different sections of books for children of different ages. There seems to be quite a good collection of books but only a handful for babies and toddlers. The place is clean and conducive though it can be a tad too quite for a curious toddler who is still clumsily flipping through the pages of a book and shouts excitedly at a familiar picture!

The best part of the library is the availability of the I-Play Room. This area is a child's (and maybe some adults') wonderland! For a nominal fee of RM12 per year, a child can go goo-goo-gaa-gaa in there! There's a closet full of clothes for pretend play, bright chairs and tables for activities, make belief kitchen area, wooden work benches.. you name it!

I was informed that they conduct some activities for kids on Saturdays and Sundays at about 11am too. I have been trying to look for some places to bring Baby Lee to during the weekdays instead of just staying at home. This place would have been great for us if not for the opening hours. The Children Library including the I-Play Room are only open on weekdays Wednesdays to Fridays 2pm-5.30pm which is right smack in the middle of Baby Lee's nap time! :(

Anyway, to register, you will need your child's MyKid or copy of birthcert with two passport size pictures and RM12.

Penang Children Library (Georgetown branch)
11, Jalan Scotland
10450 Penang
Tel: 04-2287010
Email: kkanak@penanglib.gov.my
Opening Hours:
Wednesdays to Fridays 2pm-5.30pm
Saturdays and Sundays 10am to 5.30pm (Lunch break 1pm-2.30pm)
Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays as well as Public Holidays

Little Penang Street Market

While dining at Nyonya Breeze one of those nights, we came across a brochure on the Little Penang Street Market. It sounded really interesting so we decided to make it a date.

The Little Penang Street Market is held every last Sunday of the month on Upper Penang Road. This bazaar aims to promote talents in the form of handicrafts or acts. Other than the customary handmade costume jewellery and accessories such as handbags, there were some really interesting eye openers. I found this lady sewing all these cute little baby booties by hand! And an ex-headmaster folding and selling these:(!)

patriotic paper planes!

Food is served but can be very pricey! A packet of plain Meehoon Siam costs RM3. Papa Lee's pick and mix Nyonya meal costs a whopping RM8 with just three scoops of different dishes and some rice!

One of the stalls had a lot of people crowded around it. I went to take a peak and found Nellcis Home-made Snacks selling a range of cakes! They all looked so good and were selling like, well, hot cakes! I wish I can have a piece each! In the end, I settled for the Russian Marble Cheesecake and Cempedak Cake. I must say the Cempedak Cake is heavenly, if you love cempedak like Mama Lee but the Russian Marble Cheesecake was good too! They were also selling the conventional carrot cake and moist chocolate cake as well as others like pumpkin cake and durian cake. Each piece of cake is priced at about RM5-6. Cakes are baked fresh every morning. Nely wakes up at 4am to bake!! If you are interested, you can contact Nellcis at:
6-5-2 Komplex Farlim,
Lebuhraya Thean Teik,
Bandar Baru,
Ayer Itam 11500 Penang.
Nely - 016 443 1336
Chin - 0164538133

The Little Penang Street Market can be a fun outing for the whole family. However, if you have little one, the environment may not be very conducive. We were lucky that the weather was cool when we were there. Otherwise, it can be pretty humid and slightly crowded. Anyway, it can still be a fun outing if everyone is in the mood for it!

Little Penang Street Market
Upper Penang Road
Last Sunday of every month 10:00am to 5:00pm

Check website for the next market date 

Queensbay Mall Penang

Queensbay Mall is probably the nearest mall to where we are located. Besides being the newest mall in Penang (since 1 December 2006), it is also the largest around.  Queensbay Mall also has a good array of tenants with Jusco being its anchor.

Other than the Golden Screen Cinemas and the Neway Karaoke Box, Queensbay Mall offers a fairly large skating rink (CYC Mega Fun World Roller Skate) and children soft play area (CYC Mega Kiddies World) in the South Zone on the third floor. 

CYC Mega Kiddies World is pay per day. So parents can form a tag team to watch the kids and shop or play, lunch, and then play again! They have two rates for weekdays and weekends/public holidays. We will have to reconfirm the entry price but it is in the range of RM13-RM16. Children have to be accompanied by an adult. Socks are mandatory and some are available for purchase at about RM3 per pair. This does look like a good place to release your little Energizer Bunnies!

Just diagonally across from these is the trendy Queens Food Market (Center Zone) which houses a wide array of food stalls. From Thai to local delights. You are bound to find something that suits your taste there. The food court is clean, spacious and comfortable. The only vital thing lacking are high chairs for children! So be prepared to bring your own portable high chair or stroller, whichever suits you.

There are a handful of baby changing rooms available but not all are user friendly. We have been all over looking for one before only to find that the room only contains a cold slab of melamine with no taps or bins or straps! The cleanest and most equipped so far is the one found on the Lower Ground Central Zone. Having said so, it still lacks tissue holders and rolls. This baby changing room has a partitioned room suitable for breastfeeding. They usually have a baby changing room in the anchor tenant but we have not checked if there are any baby changing rooms at Jusco.

We rate Queensbay Mall (out of 5*s)
Family Friendly ****
Baby Friendly ***
Breastfeeding Friendly ***
Variety ****
Cleanliness ****
Parking Spaces ****

CUSTOMER INFO COUNTER
Queensbay Mall
Ground Floor, Central Atrium
100 Persiaran Bayan Indah
11900 Bayan Lepas
Pulau Pinang
Tel: (604) 645 4848
Operation Hours
Mondays – Sundays: 10.30 am to 10.30 pm